Phones 4u's iPhone 6 drama drags on with dramatic U-turn

136 customers have been left out of pocket after high street retailer Phones 4u told them it won’t be issuing refunds for Apple iPhone 6 pre-orders.

In an email to customers, administrators stated those that had ordered the handset won’t get a refund, contrary to an earlier statement that said it would be cancelling and refunding the orders.

"Further to the cancellation of your order with Phones 4U for an iPhone 6, we understand you may have incurred charges on your credit card prior to the appointment of the administrators. Unfortunately due to the situation, the administrators cannot process a refund,” read the email, according to the BBC.

Customers that made an order using a credit card are told to contact their issuer to get a refund under the Consumer Credit Act. If the order was made using a debit card then the Chargeback scheme can sometimes be used or if it was a cash purchase, customers can file a claim with the administrators, which comes with the warning that it ranks as an “unsecured claim in the administration”.

A statement on administrator PWC’s website added to the customer woes by adding that “any payment, if made at all, would not be for many months and is likely to be negligible”.

Carphone Warehouse, which is part of the Dixons Carphone Warehouse group, took over more than 350 Phones 4u outlets and a spokesperson told the Guardian that it is reimbursing customers for iPhone 6 handsets just so long as they take a contract out with them.

“We understand Phones 4u customers have been told they won’t receive a refund on iPhone 6 pre-orders. We don’t think that’s fair, so we are offering to reimburse Phones 4u customers for any money paid upfront when they buy their new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus from us. All they have to do is come into our stores with printed evidence of their pre-order,” stated the spokesperson.

Phones 4u plunged into administration last week after EE became the latest network operator to pull its support and since then Vodafone, EE and Dixons Carphone Warehouse have carved up the company between them and saved hundreds of jobs in the process.